Document Review

Definition

Document review is a systematic process of examining and analyzing existing documents and records to gather relevant information for evaluating the effectiveness of a campaign. This method involves collecting data from various sources, such as reports, flyers, meeting notes, and surveys, which can provide insights into the campaign's implementation and impact. Document review is crucial for understanding how well a campaign has performed and identifying areas for improvement.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Document review can help assess the alignment of campaign activities with initial goals and objectives by providing evidence of what was actually implemented.
2. This method is often cost-effective since it utilizes existing materials rather than requiring new data collection efforts.
3. Document reviews can highlight discrepancies between planned activities and actual outcomes, revealing areas where the campaign may have fallen short.
4. By analyzing documents over time, evaluators can track changes in strategy or focus within the campaign, helping to identify trends and shifts in priorities.
5. Effective document review requires clear criteria for selecting which documents to include, ensuring that only relevant materials contribute to the evaluation.

Review Questions

• How does document review contribute to understanding the effectiveness of a health campaign?
  • Document review contributes significantly to evaluating a health campaign's effectiveness by providing concrete evidence of what was executed compared to the original objectives. It allows evaluators to analyze reports, promotional materials, and participant feedback, revealing insights into both successes and shortcomings. This thorough examination can inform future campaigns by identifying best practices and areas needing adjustment.
• Discuss how document review can complement other data collection methods during campaign evaluation.
  • Document review complements other data collection methods by providing context and supporting evidence for findings from qualitative or quantitative approaches. While surveys may provide numerical data on participant outcomes, document reviews can offer insights into how those outcomes were achieved by showcasing the actual strategies employed. This triangulation of data enhances the reliability of the evaluation results by drawing on multiple sources of information.
• Evaluate the limitations of using document review as a sole method for campaign evaluation and propose ways to mitigate these limitations.
  • Using document review as the sole method for campaign evaluation has limitations, such as potential bias in the documents themselves or incomplete records that may not capture the full picture of the campaign's impact. To mitigate these limitations, it's essential to combine document reviews with other data collection methods like interviews or surveys. This mixed-methods approach ensures a more balanced perspective by incorporating direct stakeholder feedback, leading to more robust conclusions about the campaign's effectiveness.

Related terms

Qualitative Data: Information that is descriptive and conceptual, often gathered through interviews, open-ended surveys, and observations, used to understand the underlying reasons and motivations behind behaviors.

Quantitative Data: Data that can be quantified and expressed numerically, often collected through structured surveys or experiments, allowing for statistical analysis to determine patterns and relationships.

Mixed Methods: An approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques to gain a comprehensive understanding of a research question or evaluation.